This Crew Flew Across the Largest Ocean on Earth For the First Time — Transportation History

May 31, 1928 Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith departed Oakland, California, in a Fokker F.VIIb/3m trimotor monoplane for the first trans-Pacific flight. The others on board the plane, which was named the Southern Cross, were Charles Ulm, organizing manager of the flight and co-pilot; Harry Lyon, navigator; and James Warner, radio operator. Over the next […]

via This Crew Flew Across the Largest Ocean on Earth For the First Time — Transportation History

Look, Up in the Sky! It’s a… Dirigible! — Transportation History

October 25, 1904 The first successful flight of a dirigible (a type of airship) in the United States occurred when aviator and aeronautical engineer A. Roy Knabenshue flew the “California Arrow.” He took to the skies in that cigar-shaped dirigible from the World’s Fair (officially known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition) in St. Louis, Missouri. […]

via Look, Up in the Sky! It’s a… Dirigible! — Transportation History

National Hispanic Heritage Month: Aida de Acosta — Transportation History

Aviation trailblazer Aida de Acosta (1881-1962) was born in Long Beach, New Jersey. She was the daughter of Ricardo de Acosta, a steamship company executive of Cuban descent. In June 1903 Acosta became the first woman to fly a motorized aircraft on her own. While she was visiting Paris, renowned Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont taught […]

via National Hispanic Heritage Month: Aida de Acosta — Transportation History